


Can't Control My Heartbeat

by easycomeeasygo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Child Huang Ren Jun, Fluff, M/M, Mentioned Lee Jeno, Mentioned Na Jaemin, Non-Binary Lee Taeyong, Single Parent Dong Si Cheng | WinWin, Strangers to Lovers, Theme Day: Wholesome Halloween Fun, especially after you babysit his shy tiny artsy kid, sometimes you fall in love with the single dad a few houses down
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-13 15:31:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21158183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easycomeeasygo/pseuds/easycomeeasygo
Summary: Taeyong turns toward Kun with a serious expression, doe eyes in full effect. “I wanna meet him.”“Why?”Taeyong scoffs and rolls their eyes. “I’m your best friend Kun, I wanna meet the guy and kid that have you absolutely whipped. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been writing a lot more lately.”





	Can't Control My Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> Shocking to absolutely no one that I have managed to write a Halloween themed fic that is only fucking fluff.  
thank you m for the help with norenmin's halloween costumes <3  
Written for NCT Spook Fest.

Kun is rifling through his pockets when he hears a small voice say “excuse me” behind him. He turns around and sees it’s one of his new neighbors, a kid who looks small for his age and seems to keep to himself. 

“I like your hair,” he says quietly. “It’s really cool.”

Kun instinctively runs a hand through it. He’s still not sure how he let Taeyong talk him into dying it silver. 

He bends down slightly and looks the kid in the eyes and smiles warmly, “Thank you so much! I’m Kun. You live in that gray house across the street, right?”

The kid turns towards the stupidly attractive man around Kun’s age waiting just behind him who is watching on, amused. He nods at him, trying to encourage him to say more. 

“Yeah. My name is Renjun. I’m 9.” 

His age catches him off guard. Renjun is so small, he would have guessed he was younger than that. He also files away the very Chinese name as interesting information. “It’s nice to meet you Renjun.”

Renjun looks at him for a second before turning around. “That’s my dad.”

At that, he approaches them.

“I’m Sicheng,” he says, putting his hand out for Kun to shake. Definitely Chinese. He needs more Chinese friends. 

“I’m Kun, it’s nice to meet you.”

Sicheng tilts his head at that. “Are you Chinese?”

Kun nods and smiles. “Yeah.”

Sicheng smiles brightly, “A relief.”

“I know what you mean, I don’t have enough Chinese friends here,” Kun says before looking back and Renjun who is clutching Sicheng’s leg. “Does he speak Chinese too?”

Sicheng nods and bends down to talk to Renjun. “Talk to your new ge.”

Renjun frowns and shyly hides behind Sicheng. “What do I even say?”

It’s adorable. Renjun is absolutely adorable and so fucking tiny and Kun kind of wants to pinch his cheeks. 

He talks to Sicheng for a little. They moved at the end of the school year so they’re still new to the neighborhood. Eventually, Renjun gets fed up.

“Sorry, we better get going,” he says with a small smile. “It was nice meeting you, hopefully we’ll see you around?”

Kun smiles widely in return. “You know where to find me.”

Sicheng isn’t bad either.

🎃

A few days later Kun is lounging in his living room, _ The Shining _ playing on his TV, enjoying his day off. He had been so busy finishing up production on an album all of September that his usual Labor Day Halloween decorating has gotten shoved into October. He kind of just wants to lay here doing nothing or start rereading _ It _ or some other Stephen King. But he knows his extra free time is going to get eaten up soon with another couple of songs he’ll have to work on so he needs to take advantage and decorate before it’s too late. Once he finds the courage to get up, he should probably get all of his boxes out. As he sighs, mentally preparing to finally move, there’s a knock on his door. He turns the movie off, assuming it’s Taeyong stopping by for no reason. When he gets it, he sees it’s actually Sicheng and Renjun, Sicheng looking stressed.

“Kun. I feel really bad asking you since we literally just met but I need a huge favor. Usually, Yuta will do it but he’s busy and I don’t know anyone else who’s close by but I just got a call from my boss and I need to do a million things for work last minute and I don’t have anyone who can watch Renjun.”

“Sicheng, it’s fine,” Kun says. He turns to Renjun. “Hey, Renjun? Do you wanna hang out with me today?”

Renjun hesitates for a few seconds before he nods and lets go of Sicheng’s leg.

“Thank you so much. He usually just sits and draws, he has a bunch of art supplies in his backpack. He’s not allergic to anything. I’ll give you my number in case something happens.”

Kun hands over his phone and Sicheng adds his number and calls himself so he has it too. 

“I don’t think I’ll be too late but I’ll text you?” Sicheng says, worry coloring his face.

“Really Sicheng,” Kun replies, trying to calm him down, “It’s not a big deal, I don’t mind at all. Go take care of your stuff, I’ll let you know if we need anything.”

“Injun, be good. I’ll be back soon, okay?” Sicheng says, giving him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “Seriously. Thank you, Kun, I owe you.”

Renjun follows Kun into the living room and Kun is suddenly very aware of the fact that he’s alone with a kid. He’s not really sure what to do with him.

Renjun sits on the floor and opens his backpack, taking out a sketchbook and a box of crayons. He places them on the coffee table and methodically takes out each crayon and lays them out before opening the sketchbook and beginning to draw.

Kun sits next to him and watches. 

“What are you drawing,” Kun asks.

“Moomin.”

Kun did not expect that but he rolls with it. “You like Moomin?”

It’s probably the first time he’s seen Renjun actually get a bit excited, smiling slightly. “Yeah. I draw him a lot. Do you want to see my drawings?”

Kun smiles and encourages him, “Of course, I’d love to.”

Renjun flips through his sketchbook and describes all of his drawings. It’s the cutest thing Kun has ever seen. Scattered in between the Moomin drawings are random ones, typical family ones of him and Sicheng, and some of other cartoon characters, all surprisingly good considering how young Renjun is.

“These are really good, Renjun.” Kun flips back to one of Finn and Jake from Adventure Time, “This one is my favorite.”

Renjun looks at Kun for a few seconds before carefully tearing it out of his sketchbook and hands it to Kun. 

“You can have it,” he says with a small smile. “Because we’re friends now, right?”

Kun feels his heart clench. Renjun is so cute. “Of course we are. Thank you, Renjun.”

Kun watches Renjun draw for a bit before remembering the boxes he wanted to tackle. “Hey random question, but do you like Halloween?” he asks.

Renjun’s eyes go impossibly wide, emoting in a way that Kun is pretty sure he doesn’t do often. “It’s my favorite.”

“Do you want to help me decorate?”

Renjun gets up fast. “Yes!”

He’s relieved he managed to find something that made Renjun feel more comfortable with him, finally feeling like he really has broken the ice with him.

Kun goes and gets his boxes of decorations while Renjun waits for him. He also mildly panics. He usually throws on some horror movie as background noise when he does this but he’s not sure what he can watch with Renjun here. He mentally goes through his Blu-ray collection trying to figure out what’s appropriate for a 9-year-old kid before remembering that Disney does in fact, exist. 

“Hey Renjun, do you like The Nightmare Before Christmas?”

He nods. “It’s my favorite movie.”

“Cool,” Kun says, putting a box down in the living room, “I’ll put it on while we decorate.” 

By the time they finish decorating, Kun is ready to steal Renjun for his own. He’s easily the coolest kid he’s ever met. He reminds Kun of himself when he was younger, just as soft-spoken and reserved unless prompted with something he liked. 

Asking about Halloween really did break the ice. He tells Kun about all of his favorite Halloween movies and all of the fall things he likes to do. He sings along to the songs and carefully places decorations around, checking with Kun as he finishes before moving onto the next thing. It’s the most fun Kun has had decorating, probably ever. They manage to finish the movie and decorating the living room by the time Sicheng comes back.

“Your kid is the best,” Kun says when he opens the door for Sicheng.

“Agreed,” Sicheng replies, relieved that it seems like everything went well.

Renjun runs over excitedly. “Baba, Kun-ge is my favorite now. He’s so cool. He’s so much better than Yuta.” 

“Yeah?” Sicheng says, smiling. “Did you have fun with him?”

He nods. “Yeah, he’s so cool! We watched Nightmare Before Christmas!”

“Nice. Go get your stuff okay?”

After Renjun turns the corner he looks at Kun, almost as if he’s trying to read him.

“I’ve never seen Renjun this excited after being left with a stranger. How’d you do it?”

“I was planning on decorating for Halloween today and asked if he wanted to help me.”

“Oh,” Sicheng says, sounding surprised. “Well, that’ll do it. He’s a little terror when it comes to Halloween and stuff, he loves it. The only thing he loves more is Moomin. Did he tell you about that too?”

“Yeah, he showed me his sketchbook. He ended up giving me one of his drawings. An Adventure Time one, I’m gonna our it on my fridge, it’s really good.”

“Shit,” Sicheng replies smiling widely and eyes crinkling cutely, “He does like you more than Yuta. I can’t wait to tell him that, he’s gonna be so upset.”

“Yuta is my best friend by the way,” he explains, “He helped me a lot when Renjun was born and getting used to the whole single-dad thing.”

Before Kun can even reply, Renjun comes back with his backpack.

“Ready to go?” Sicheng asks.

Renjun nods, “Can I see gege again soon though?”

Kun smiles brightly. He fucking adores this kid. “Of course you can. I told you, we’re friends now.” He then turns to Sicheng. “I’m always down to watch him if you need. I had a ton of fun with him, just let me know.”

“I will definitely keep that in mind. Thanks, Kun. Goodnight.”

🎃

Kun and Sicheng begin talking a lot now that they exchanged numbers. The conversation begins with talking about where in China they’re both from and what they do for a living before moving onto other topics. He finds out Sicheng is a year younger than him. He went to UCLA and ended up staying. He used to do traditional Chinese dancing. Enies Lobby is his favorite One Piece arc. He’s just a bit tsundere except when it comes to Renjun. It’s cute, _ Sicheng _ is cute. 

Kun is… well. He’s immediately a bit smitten. 

🎃

Sicheng begins to take Kun up on his offer and he ends up watching Renjun more and more often. It’s more convenient for Sicheng since their neighbors and honestly? Kun loves Renjun’s company. 

“These two boys keep trying to talk to me,” Renjun says out of nowhere one day. 

“Do you want to tell me about them? What are their names?”

“Jeno and Jaemin. They’ve been coming up to me at lunchtime and will sit and eat with me. And they always ask me to play with them on the playground during recess.”

“Well do you want to play with them?” Kun asks.

Renjun stops drawing and thinks for a second. “I think so. Maybe. I usually just draw.”

Kun moves off of the couch and sits next to Renjun on the floor. “Are you scared to talk to them?”

“What if they don’t like me,” he replies quietly. Kun’s heart shatters. He hates that Renjun is worried about that. It makes Kun worry about him. He sees how quiet and shy Renjun is and he knows kids can be so cruel.

“They keep trying to talk to you right? Do they seem nice? I’m sure they want to be friends with you Injun. Maybe you’ll have fun playing with them and doing what they like and maybe they’ll want to draw with you too.”

“They seem nice I think. Maybe I’ll play with them tomorrow,” he says.

Kun breathes a sigh of relief, glad he said the right thing.

When Sicheng comes to pick Renjun up, Kun takes advantage of Renjun having to pack his things up to talk to him.

“Can I ask you something about Renjun?”

“Sure,” Sicheng replies, suddenly looking concerned. “Is everything alright?”

“He told me about how some kids at school want to play with him and how he’s scared they won’t like him… Does he not have a lot of friends?”

Sicheng sighs. “He’s really shy. We moved at the end of the school year and he changed school districts for this year. He’s super introverted, he’d rather sit and draw by himself then run around and play with others. I’ve been trying to get him to talk to more kids but it’s hard. What’d you tell him?”

“I told him he should at least try to play with them and that maybe they’ll draw with him too.”

Sicheng smiles. “I hope he does. Thanks for talking to him. He’ll probably listen to you, he really does like you a lot.”

🎃

Kun is getting coffee on his way back from a meeting with his record company when he gets a message from Sicheng. Renjun is having a playdate with his new friends, who Kun presumes are Jeno and Jaemin and Sicheng wants to meet up. They end up grabbing lunch.

Sicheng stares at Kun as he walks in, and keeps staring as he sits down across from him.

“What?” Kun asks.

He shakes off whatever trance he’s in. “Nothing I’ve just never seen you in anything more formal I guess.”

"I had a meeting at work right before this, didn't have time to stop at home to change," Kun replies, feeling embarrassed.

"You look good," Sicheng replies quietly. "So what was your meeting about?"

"Just a check-in on how some songs we're working on is going. The artist sent in the last of some recordings we needed and Taeyong and I finally started working on production in earnest.”

“What kind of stuff do you work on? Would it be anyone I’ve heard of?”

“Taeyong and I both write and produce. We do some pop stuff but mostly K-pop?”

Sicheng tilts his head, intrigued. “Like who?”

“Oh,” Kun replies. He always feels weird talking about work. He loves what he does, loves the music his name is attached to but he never knows how to act when someone expresses genuine interest in it. “The songs we’re doing right now are for EXO. We’ve done stuff for basically all of the SM artists. A few other ones too.”

“Shit,” he breathes out. “I love EXO. That’s really cool.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty fun most of the time. Is Renjun with Jeno and Jaemin?”

Sicheng gives Kun a weird look, his jaw slightly dropping as if he’s surprised Kun remembered what Renjun told him. The expression barely lasts, quickly replaced with a smile. “Yeah, he is. He’s going apple picking with them.”

As Kun walks back to his car, he just hears Sicheng saying “you look good” loop in his head. Sicheng catches him off guard so often, dropping a compliment and then suddenly changing the subject, not giving Kun a chance to even process what he said. 

After hanging out with Sicheng that day, Kun finds himself getting invited to hang out with Sicheng, not only one on one but with him and Renjun a lot more often. He genuinely loves it, loves seeing them, being with them. Hearing about both of their days, sitting around drinking coffee and talking to Sicheng while Renjun quietly does his homework at the table with them. He feels like he’s found something with the two of them. He doesn’t want to get ahead of himself but it almost feels like a home.

🎃

Kun is struggling with a track. They have two left before they can finally say they’re done with the album and he and Taeyong are struggling with the ones that are left, taking turns working on them. As much as he loves Chanyeol’s singing voice, he might explode if he hears it one more time. He can tell Taeyong is also getting frustrated, their pout growing as the minutes pass.

“Taeyong,” Kun says, getting their attention, “Let’s take a break. Get boba or something.”

Taeyong blinks before processing what he said, getting up. They leave their studio and head to a boba shop nearby.

They drive in silence and don’t talk until they’ve had half of their drinks.

“I love Baekhyun hyung but I think I hate him now,” Taeyong says frustratedly.

“For me, it’s Chanyeol hyung,” Kun replies.

Taeyong nods, taking a sip of his boba. “At least we’re almost done. It’s just these two left right?”

“Yeah, everything else is done.”

“Let’s sit with them together when we get back?” They say. “We’re gonna finish this fucking album. It’s gonna be amazing. Fuck Baekhyun. Fuck Chanyeol. Fuck EXO.”

Kun takes a sip of his drink and replies, “We’ve got this. We just needed a second away from it, it’s fine.”

As they leave the boba place, Kun gets a text from Sicheng. He tells him he’s taking Renjun to a pumpkin patch Saturday morning and he invited him to go with them. 

“You look happy,” Taeyong says, gesturing at Kun’s phone.

“Oh, I just made plans with Sicheng and Renjun this weekend. Pumpkin picking, apparently.”

“Renjun… that’s your neighbor kid that you’ve been babysitting randomly right? The one who drew that picture on your fridge?”

“Yeah. Sicheng’s his dad.”

Taeyong looks at Kun suspiciously. “How old is Sicheng, Kun?”

“He’s 29, 30 this month. He’s a Scorpio. Why?”

“No reason, just curious,” they reply. “You’ve been spending a ton of time with them lately.”

Kun blushes. “I guess.”

🎃

Renjun looks like he’s vibrating out of his body when Kun gets in the car way too early on a Saturday morning.

“Hey Injun,” he says, “You look excited?”

Renjun beams. “I love pumpkin picking! Dad always lets me pick the ones I like and we get apple cider and doughnuts! And there’s a maze!”

Sicheng laughs. “I got you coffee. You’ll need it to keep up with him. It’s basically the only time he’s this hyper.”

Kun takes a sip and realizes it’s made just the way he takes it. It’s a small thing but it makes his heart jump.

They get there early enough that they manage to park fairly close to the farm. As they head in, Renjun insists that they do the maze first. "We can pick pumpkins after."

They let him take the lead, carefully analyzing the map the worker handed them and guiding them through it. The maze has various stations with stamps and Renjun carefully does his best trying to make them look as perfect as possible.

After they collect the last stamp and get on the tail end of the maze, Renjun hands Sicheng his map. He grabs Kun's hand, dragging him away from Sicheng.

"I wanna walk with gege now," he says seriously.

Sicheng laughs, looking at them with an expression that Kun can only describe as fond. “Go ahead, I’ll grab the wagon from the cart while he starts looking.”

They let Sicheng go ahead of them and Renjun grabs his hand and drags him through the rest of the maze. He begins to talk about how he wants to carve his pumpkins. "I wanna do one like Jack Skellington. And a normal one too. Jeno and Jaemin and I are also gonna paint some too."

“Jeno and Jaemin?”

Renjun nods and smiles slightly. “They’re my friends now. I like them a lot.”

Kun smiles, “I’m glad you gave them a chance.”

“Yeah,” Renjun replies, “Me too. ”

It doesn’t take long for Sicheng to find them again, Renjun has already picked two pumpkins he wants to take home. Kun puts them on the wagon and they continue following Renjun around again.

“He seems less reserved,” Kun says to Sicheng quietly.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Jeno and Jaemin are super energetic and outgoing, they’re good for him, I think.”

“I’m glad.”

“You helped too,” Sicheng says softly before going and helping Renjun with another pumpkin.

It’s then that Kun realizes just how much he cares, not only about Sicheng but Renjun too. He cares about how he’s doing in school, if he’s making friends, if he’s beginning to let people in. He’s not sure when he became so invested but he doesn’t mind it at all. He _ loves _this kid.

When they get to Sicheng and Renjun’s, Kun helps them bring in their haul.

Before Kun leaves, Sicheng hands him a bag with a carton of fresh apple cider and two little pumpkins. “Thanks for coming with us.”

“I had fun,” Kun says before adding hastily, “I always have fun with you two.”

Sicheng blushes, surprising Kun with his visible reaction. “Goodnight, Kun.”

🎃

Kun is surprised at just how fast he’s fallen for Sicheng. He’s usually so cautious and guarded but something about Sicheng makes him want to tear down his own walls and let him in. It makes him want to write songs about him. He can tell he’s getting ahead of himself, hearing a melody in his head that would sound so good being sung sweetly by Jongdae. Or even, thinking about the mic he hasn’t touched in his studio in a while, himself. He writes it all down, not wanting to lose it and shoves it back in. 

🎃

They’re trying a new coffee place in Pasadena when Sicheng brings it up.

“You’ve never asked about Renjun,” Sicheng says out of the blue.

“What do you mean,” Kun replies, confused.

“You’ve never asked how I have him.”

“Oh,” Kun says. “You’re a single father and you have a great kid. The details didn’t seem too important.”

Sicheng stares at him for what feels like ages, assessing, before he smiles. “Every time I’ve met someone since he was born, one of the first things they’d ask is how I was a single father. It always felt like it was just a way of judging me, I guess. It was really nice that you just accepted it.”

“I just got the feeling that you would share when you were ready to,” Kun replies. “I am curious though if you want to tell me.”

Sicheng laughs. “It’s not really anything big. I had a partner, they got pregnant, wasn’t ready for something so serious, and they didn’t want a kid. We broke up and I got Renjun. It was a few months before graduation but I already had a really good job lined up. I knew it would be hard but I really wanted to do it. I was lucky and had a good support system.”

🎃

As used to spending time with Sicheng he’s becoming, it still comes as a surprise when Sicheng texts him asking him to come over late on a weeknight. When Sicheng opens the door for him, Kun is shocked at just how exhausted he looks.

“Are you… okay?” Kun immediately asks.

Sicheng just half-heartedly shrugs. “Had a shitty day. Renjun was in a bad mood. Work was annoying, as always. I just. I guess I just wanted to see you.”

Kun smiles and pulls Sicheng down into a hug. He stiffens up at first before relaxing into Kun’s arms.

Sicheng blushes but he looks more relaxed when he pulls away. “I have water boiling for that weird tea you like. Go sit and find something for us to watch, I’ll go make it.”

Kun does as he says, flipping through the channels before settling on a Treehouse of Horrors marathon.

Sicheng joins him on the couch, handing Kun his tea and sitting right next to him, hardly any space between them.

After an episode and a cup of tea, Sicheng seems calmer. 

“Thanks for coming,” Sicheng mumbles. “I know I’ve been shitty company but I appreciate it.”

“I like spending time with you, Sicheng.”

As Kun walks back to his house, he wonders if his feelings for Sicheng are reciprocated.

🎃

“I think I wanna date my neighbor,” he tells Taeyong in the middle of one of their remastering sessions.

“Renjun’s dad? Sicheng, right?”

“Yeah,” Kun replies. “Sicheng is…” He takes a second trying to collect his thoughts. Sicheng is a lot of things, he’s nice to be around, he’s an incredible dad to the coolest kid on the fucking planet. He’s the cutest person Kun has ever seen in his life and he works with Taeyong. “He’s really great, Yong.”

Taeyong turns toward him with a serious expression, doe eyes in full effect. “I wanna meet him.”

“Why?” 

Taeyong scoffs and rolls their eyes. “I’m your best friend Kun, I wanna meet the guy and kid that has you absolutely whipped. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been writing a lot more lately.”

🎃

Taeyong gets their wish a few days later. They’re both in the studio on a Saturday, messing around with their own things taking a much-needed break from a song they’re having a bit of trouble with when he gets a text from Sicheng.

“Hey, Taeyong?” Kun starts, not taking his eyes off his phone, “Is it okay if Sicheng and Renjun stop by? Renjun made cookies.”

Taeyong shoots up excitedly, eyes widening. “Cookies?”

Kun laughs, “I’ll let them know they can.”

Kun waits for them outside. He’s scrolling through Twitter, trying to look nonchalant and not like he’s vibrating with excitement about seeing them when he hears Sicheng. “Hey Kun.”

His heart definitely skips a beat. Sicheng is wearing a black and white patterned sweater that’s slightly oversized, sleeves almost completely covering his hands. His dark hair is also unstyled, slightly messy and looks almost fluffy. It’s cute and Kun just wants to pull Sicheng down close and hug him. It’s a lot.

His attention, thankfully, is immediately taken by Renjun, who is carefully clutching Tupperware to his chest. “Gege, I made cookies for you. They’re ghosts.”

“You’re the best, Injun. You guys can come in for a bit if you want?” Kun asks, hoping they say yes. He wouldn’t mind spending a little bit longer with them.

“Can we, baba?” Renjun asks.

Sicheng nods, “Yeah, we’re not doing anything else.”

Kun leads them insides and punches in the code for his studio.

“Do you have the cookies,” Taeyong screams out.

“And the kid who made them,” Kun replies.

“Renjunnie is here?” Taeyong asks excitedly.

Taeyong comes out and greets them.

“Hey, I’m Taeyong, you must be Renjun. Kun talks about you all the time,” they say softly with a smile. They then turn to Sicheng, “I’m Kun’s co-worker and best friend.”

To Kun’s surprise, Sicheng almost looks relieved at that clarification. 

Renjun is shy in front of Taeyong.

“Gege?” he says to Kun.

When Kun bends down to talk to him, Renjun whispers in his ear, “He looks like an anime.”

Kun laughs. “Yeah they do, but they’re really nice, I promise.”

Renjun turns back to Taeyong, looking at their bubblegum pink hair for a few seconds before saying loud enough for Taeyong to hear, “They look like Prince Gumball.”

“I love Prince Gumball,” Taeyong says, “Kun showed me the Adventure Time drawing you gave him, it’s so good!”

“I can draw him for you,” Renjun says, still sounding shy. “Do you want a cookie?”

Renjun holds out the Tupperware for Taeyong and they grab a cookie.

“Thank you,” they reply with a wide smile.

Renjun and Sicheng stay at the studio for a bit. Renjun is happy just looking around and curiously asking him and Taeyong about all of the equipment and ends up showing interest in some of the stuffed animals Taeyong has on their side of the studio. 

Sicheng just hangs back and watches. Taeyong ends up starting a conversation with him. As he watches them talk, Kun is relieved that it seems like they’re getting along. 

“Oh, Gege?” Renjun says just before they leave. He puts his backpack down, going through it and opens his sketchbook, giving a drawing to Kun. “I drew a picture for you, I hope you like it.”

It’s a drawing of Lock, Shock, and Barrel from Nightmare Before Christmas and it’s the best drawing Kun has ever seen in his entire life. He could cry, he feels so touched that Renjun even thought to draw something specifically for him. 

“Injunnie,” Kun says, eyes shining, “This is the best drawing in the whole world. I’m gonna put it in my office, okay?”

Renjun smiles and nods and shyly gives Kun a hug. Kun hugs him back, tightly. He looks up and sees Sicheng absolutely beaming at them.

After they leave Taeyong immediately goes in on Kun.

“First off before I harass you about Sicheng, I need to talk about Renjun. He is the cutest kid of all time, I can see why you’re so whipped for him and honestly? I don’t blame you at all. He’s so small. How is he so small? He’s so cute. I love him. I want to spoil him.”

Taeyong pauses and looks at Kun, expression turning suddenly serious. “Kun. Sicheng is absolutely into you. When I introduced myself the look on his face could have killed me I’ve never seen such a cold stare before. And the relief on his face when I said that we were friends? The way he was looking at you and Renjun hugging? Kun, it was straight up doki doki shit. You guys already act like a blended family. I think you should just talk to him. It’s a big step for both of you but I really don’t think you have anything to be afraid of.” 

The thing about Taeyong is that they’re intuitive. Kun doesn’t know a lot of people who are as intuitive as them. Taeyong is good at reading people, situations, and if they think that there isn’t anything that Kun should be afraid of, well. Maybe they’re right.

Kun just takes another bite of a cookie.

Taeyong follows suit. “Wow,” they say, finishing another cookie, “Renjun is so small. Please let me babysit when you and Sicheng start dating.”

🎃

Renjun is over again. Sicheng dropped him off while he went grocery shopping but Kun thinks there’s something more to it, especially when Renjun keeps looking at him like he wants to say something.

“My dad likes you,” he finally says.

“Huh?” Kun replies. 

“Likes you likes you,” Renjun clarifies. “Like a crush but adult?”

“What makes you say that?” Kun asks.

“I heard him tell Yuta. And he wanted to bring you cookies but told me to say that I wanted to. Yuta said it’s because he wanted an excuse to see you.”

“Oh,” he replies. It’s like each thing Renjun says keeps absolutely throwing him. He decides to just be honest with Renjun. “Well, I like your dad too. Are you okay with that?”

Renjun nods furiously. “Duh. That’s a dumb question. You’re my friend. You’re nice to me and really nice to my dad. He smiles a lot around you. Are you gonna date him?”

Kun chokes. “Hopefully,” he admits. “This is a secret, okay Renjun?”

Renjun sticks out his pinky. “I promise I won’t tell.”

🎃

Sicheng invites him out again, this time to hang out with his friends for his birthday, not wanting to do anything extravagant for it.

“Hey,” Sicheng says as Kun gets in the car. “Yuta’s is like 25/30 minutes away. Doyoung and Jaehyun will be there too.”

Sicheng hands Kun the AUX cord and lets Kun control the music for the ride. He picks a random playlist and spends the ride stealing glances at Sicheng. 

As Kun sits on the couch of Yuta’s living room next to Sicheng he can’t help but think about how all of Sicheng’s friends are definitely judging him. It’s the first time he’s meeting them all, and he’s been spending so much time with him since the month started that Sicheng mentioned how Yuta was complaining about missing him. 

He’s even more sure of it when Sicheng goes to the bathroom and they all turn to him.

“So Kun,” Yuta says with a grin, “What are your intentions with Winko?”

Doyoung smacks him. “He’s annoying, please ignore him, we all do.”

“Just let him interrogate,” Jaehyun says, “He’ll be annoying if he doesn’t.”

“Yah,” Yuta exclaims, “Renjun likes him so much more than me I have to get to the bottom of this. Let me interrogate him before Sichengie comes back.”

Kun flushes at that. Sicheng has joked about it but actually hearing it from Yuta is different.

Kun decides to answer honestly. “I like him a lot.”

“And what about Renjun,” Yuta asks with a serious expression.

“He’s the best kid in the world,” Kun shrugs.

“And you’re okay with Sicheng being a single father?”

Kun gives him an incredulous look. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Before Yuta can continue questioning him, Sicheng comes back. Judging by the small smile on Yuta’s face, he’s pretty sure he said the right things.

🎃

Sicheng walks Kun to his door. 

“Your friends are pretty cool,” Kun says. “I had fun.”

“No they’re not, but I’m glad you liked them,” Sicheng replies, smiling.

Kun feels his heart skip a beat. He could write dozens of songs about Sicheng’s smile.

“So,” Sicheng says, “Renjun is spending Halloween with Jeno and Jaemin.”

“Oh?”

Sicheng bites his lip before continuing, “Would you maybe want to come over for dinner and a movie?”

It sounds like a date.

“Like a date,” Sicheng tacks on, sheepishly. “I, uh, heard Yuta interrogating you.”

“He wasn’t so bad. But yeah, I would love that,” Kun replies, feeling his face beginning to get bright red.

“I’ll let you know when I’m back after dropping Injun off then.”

“He knows,” Kun blurts out. “That we, uh, like each other?”

“That little scheming brat,” Sicheng laughs. “He heard me talk to Yuta about you the other day about how I was nervous about asking you out because I haven’t gone on a date in eons and I have a son and dating is just serious for me, you know? And I thought maybe you would be okay with it because you genuinely like Renjun and how you act around us but still. He overheard so I told him to pretend he didn’t.”

“He told me that day you went grocery shopping and he didn’t want to go.”

“Ugh. Of course he did. He was so insistent on not going, I should have known he was up to something. After we got home he asked me why I wouldn’t date you and when I tried to explain it to him he looked at me expressionless and said ‘that’s really dumb baba’. I swear my own kid thinks I'm the biggest idiot. I asked if he wanted me to date you and he said yes and rolled his eyes.”

“It never bothered me that you’re a dad,” Kun says. “I love Renjun. He’s so smart and awesome and I love spending time with him. I get what dating you would mean. I want that. I get that he comes first no matter what.” Sicheng smiles softly at him and it gives Kun the courage to continue, “I don’t do casual either. I like you so much Sicheng. I want to date you and I want to spend time with you and Renjun.”

🎃

The day before Halloween, Renjun runs up to Kun and looks up at him with big doe eyes. Kun can already tell he’s going to give in to whatever he’s about to ask him. 

“Gege, will you go trick or treating with me?”

Sicheng adds, “Jeno’s isn’t too far so we were gonna trick or treat on the way there.”

“Sounds fun, I’d love to go with you Injun. What are you dressing up as?”

“Jeno, Jaemin and I are gonna be the golden trio.”

“Who are you gonna be, Hermione?” Kun asks.

Renjun nods enthusiastically. “They’re both kind of dumb but it’s okay. Jeno is gonna be Harry because he wears glasses and Jaemin is gonna be Ron. We all got robes.”

“I can’t wait ‘til he realizes he’s a Ravenclaw,” Sicheng whispers in his ear. 

“Oh gege,” Renjun says, getting Kun’s attention back, “I drew a picture for Taeyong. Can you give it to them?”

Renjun pulls his sketchbook out of his backpack and hands Kun the drawing. It’s of Prince Bubblegum and Marshall Lee. Taeyong is going to lose it when they see it.

“I’ll give it to them when I see them next. They’re gonna love it, Injun.”

🎃

Kun doesn’t know what to expect for trick or treating. He’s aware of it, vaguely, just knowing the gist of it from American movies and TV shows. He’s excited about it though. Renjun seemed happy about him joining and Kun isn’t going to turn down any opportunity to spend time with him and Sicheng.

His doorbell rings and he assumes it’s Sicheng and Renjun. When he opens the door, he sees Renjun, in his little Gryffindor robes, white shirt cleanly pressed and tucked into his trousers and tie perfectly done. He looks absolutely thrilled, it’s cute. 

“Trick or treat gege,” Renjun says with a smile. 

Kun grabs the bowl on the end table and grabs a handful of Reese’s Cups. He had asked Sicheng a few days ago what Renjun’s favorite candy is and he stocked up. It was absolutely worth it, considering how Renjun’s eyes light up, looking thrilled at getting them. 

Sicheng is off to the side, leaning against the wall in a Gryffindor sweater, watching them both with a fond expression.

“One sec,” Kun says before going back inside his house. Sicheng’s sweater reminded him that he has one too, from when he went to Universal with Taeyong, Ten, Taeil, and Johnny in the summer.

He heads back outside, locking his door and turning to Sicheng and Renjun with a wide smile.

“Now, we match, Sichengie,” Kun sing-songs.

“Cute,” he replies. He opens his mouth to say something else, but Renjun interrupts him.

“You’re a Ravenclaw, gege? That’s so cool. Come on, let’s go.”

Trick or treating ends up being fun. Renjun becomes more and more eager as they get closer to Jeno’s.

As Renjun walks up to another house, Sicheng grabs Kun’s arm. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.” Kun looks at his sweater, “Did you and Renjun go to Universal?”

Sicheng shakes his head, “No, Yuta and Doyoung went and got it for me. I wanna take him soon though. You should come with us.”

Kun looks at the house and sees that Renjun is still in the crowd of costumed kids waiting for candy.

“You could ask me to do anything with you guys and I’d probably say yes.”

“We’ll get robes,” Sicheng says. “Shit, you and Renjun would match. That’s fucking cute.”

Kun smiles widely, even as Sicheng pulls his hand back as Renjun walks back to them.

After they drop Renjun off, they make their way back to Sicheng’s. It takes a couple of blocks but Kun finally talks himself into grabbing Sicheng’s hand and judging from the blush that creeps up Sicheng’s face and the way he smiles when he looks at their intertwined hands, it was definitely a good decision.

“So, my Halloween decoration, what movie are you gonna make us watch?” Sicheng asks.

Kun smiles at the nickname. “Halloween decoration?”

“Yeah, you’re all like... goth and spooky and shit. You weirdo. My very own Halloween decoration,” he says with a wide smile. 

“Cute.” Kun replies, “Have you seen The Conjuring?”

Sicheng pouts. “No.”

“It’s on Netflix. It’s not scary, don't worry.”

Sicheng whines, pulling Kun close and resting his head on his shoulder. “I promise you’re the only weirdo who thinks that. When I get scared it’s your problem, Kun-ge.” 

They stand awkwardly in front of Sicheng’s house for a minute before Sicheng clears his throat. “I know I said dinner but do you just wanna come over now?”

Kun nods and follows him inside.

After Kun closes the front door behind him, Sicheng kisses him. Kun isn’t expecting it, but he suddenly finds himself in Sicheng’s arms, Sicheng’s lips on his. 

Sicheng’s hands come up to his face, gently holding him. It’s as if Kun is this precious thing, and he can’t help but suddenly feel shy under his attention. 

“Kun,” Sicheng says, “You are so annoyingly cute and I’ve wanted to do that for ages now. Can I kiss you again?”

Kun blushes fiercely and buries his head into Sicheng’s chest, embarrassed at how forthcoming Sicheng is being. “What happened to being super tsundere.”

Sicheng laughs. “I mean, I’m still a little tsundere.”

Kun looks back up at Sicheng, kissing him again. 

They stand in the hall kissing for way too long before Sicheng pulls away. 

“I have a couch,” he says, pulling Kun towards the living room. “Did you know?”

“Don’t be a smartass, Sicheng.”

Sicheng smiles and Kun finds himself mesmerized by it. He feels like it’s the first time he can just openly look at Sicheng, not hiding anything in his face.

The end up making out on the couch for a while. It’s nice, the weight of Sicheng on him, how his hands feel running through Sicheng’s hair. How he giggles when Kun accidentally tickles him when he runs his hands down his sides.

After a while, Sicheng checks the time. “I should probably start making us dinner.”

“Can I help you?” Kun asks.

“Yeah, you like cooking right?”

Kun finds himself easily slotting in with Sicheng in his kitchen, moving around him and grabbing vegetables from the fridge with ease.

After they eat, Sicheng grabs them beers from the fridge and they head into the living room. He puts them on the coffee table and grabs a blanket from the other end of the couch before pulling Kun down next to him. He puts the blanket on top of them, hands Kun the remote, and lifts his arm and cuddles him. It surprises Kun, he’s always had this impression that Sicheng wasn’t super touchy-feely but he won’t deny that he likes it.

“It’s really not that bad,” Kun says, selecting the movie on Netflix and hitting play.

“Sure it’s not,” Sicheng breathes out.

Watching the Conjuring with Sicheng is actually enjoyable. He makes little comments that Kun loves.

“Why are they going in that house, Kun,” he says. “The dog doesn’t like it. Dogs see shit, don’t they know?”

“They’re white, Sicheng.”

Sicheng laughs. “Everyone in horror movies always ignores the dogs. Why don’t they get it, the dogs are right.”

As the movie goes on, Sicheng grows quiet and Kun gets more and more immersed in the movie.

All of a sudden, Sicheng buries his head into Kun’s chest. “I’m gonna kill you. How is this not scary?”

Kun just pulls Sicheng in closer, gently planting a kiss on his forehead.

Sicheng laughs, pushing Kun away. He gets up and grabs their empty beer bottles. “I’ll get us more.”

He comes back quickly with two more beers and settles back where he was sitting, right under Kun’s arm.

“Taeyong wants to babysit Renjun,” Kun says when he notices that Sicheng’s heart rate is beginning to pick up because of the movie. “They absolutely lost their shit about how cute he is. They teared up when I gave them the drawing too, I meant to tell Renjun that before.”

Sicheng laughs, “What are friends if not free babysitters. I’m glad they liked it.”

The distraction works well enough that Sicheng relaxes and they finish up the movie. Once it ends, Sicheng grabs the remotes and puts on Halloweentown. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into watching a scary movie.”

“Excuse me,” Kun whines, “I did not talk you into anything, I simply suggested it. You could have said no.”

“Nightmare Halloween decoration boyfriend,” Sicheng says fondly. “Absolute bully.”

“I hope Renjun ends up liking horror movies too,” Kun shoots back.

Sicheng freezes. His jaw drops slightly and Kun is absolutely thrilled, pretty sure he knows what Sicheng is currently realizing. 

“Oh no. There’s two of you.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [talk to me about wayv<3](http://www.twitter.com/fleur_cannon) | [ cc ](https://curiouscat.me/yangyangsdemonparent)


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